In the chapter on the First Column of Light in Reverend Master Jiyu’s book How to Grow a Lotus Blossom, there is the image of a person standing in a pillar of light underneath a dark cloud, looking up towards … Continue reading →
There is something that calls us to meditation and this call persists as we go on. There is something deep within us that we know to be true, and know to be good, but we can feel as if we … Continue reading →
The Precepts point to and express a fundamental shift in our point of view. Training seems to me to involve choosing a certain way of living or relating to the world—a choice that is repeated daily, almost endlessly. There is … Continue reading →
Almost always when we talk about how our meditation practice can really not be separated from working with the Precepts, someone will lament how hard that is. And we all agree, it is hard if you wish to label it … Continue reading →
I’m seventy seven and in ill health. This affected my posture in meditation until I changed it. I then realised that my apparent reluctance to alter my position had been due to pride; having sat with a straight unsupported back, … Continue reading →
In the early morning quiet, with an aching body and befuddled mind, I get out of bed. Groping around, taking care of early morning matters, still half asleep and scarcely aware of anything – tears well up; how can I … Continue reading →
It is a basic human desire to seek happiness and satisfaction in our lives. The question we all face in life is how do we find this happiness and satisfaction? The way we answer that question is the way we … Continue reading →
Segaki enables a tenderness for life to emerge and this talk is about opening our hearts. Segaki is a time when we can call to mind and honour all who have died, particularly those who have died in difficult circumstances—and … Continue reading →
When conditions arise, no matter what the conditions are, they complete us. And then conditions change. Acceptance means that conditions change, completeness doesn’t. So although we say that heat or cold completes us, it is not that we were incomplete … Continue reading →
There are 11, long narrow red cloth banners, that are hung in a straight line, behind and above, the Segaki, (also known as The Feeding of the Hungry Ghosts) Altar. The names on the banners are written vertically, in black. … Continue reading →
